West Village arrests underscore long-standing tensions between residents, LGBT youth

As the weather continues to grow warmer, more LGBT youth will certainly descend upon the Christopher Street Pier and the adjacent West Village. This seasonal influx, however, leaves some local residents concerned as they continue to contend with what they say is an increase in crime, vandalism and other things they maintain diminish their quality of life.

The arrest of two transgender teenagers earlier this month in connection with a string of purse snatchings and credit card thefts outside an exclusive apartment building on the corner of Christopher and Greenwich Streets only heightens these concerns as I reported in EDGE New York yesterday. Fabulous Independent Educated Radicals for Community Empowerment (FIERCE) continues to call for a 24-hour LGBT center on Pier 40, but some of the young people with whom I spoke on the pier last Saturday conceded some of their friends do indeed cause unnecessary problems for local residents.

This story will certainly continue to unfold as it has done for years, but attached is the link to the article I posted.